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Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, by all accounts a consumer-oriented device targeting Amazon Kindle Fire’s market share, has not been released to the company’s channel partners yet. Nonetheless, partners say the device can help them by increasing interest in and adoption of other Google products and services.

Unveiled Wednesday in San Francisco at the Google I/O developers conference, Nexus 7 sports a 7-inch screen, a new version of its Android operating system processor called Jelly Bean, and a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, including a 12-core GPU. It costs $199 and offers access to movies, books and magazines, all displayed in colorful, high resolution.

Channel partners said Nexus 7 is not for the enterprise, but they would nonetheless like to include it in their portfolio at some point.

“It’s aimed squarely at consumers, at the lower end, with a small form factor, but if you take the concept and make it a more enterprise-size device with more features, it can have enterprise potential," said Tony Safoian, president and CEO of solution provider SADA Systems, of North Hollywood, Calif., which sells both Google and Microsoft products.

“Of course, we would like to have it available in the channel, but it seems like they are focused on winning the hearts and minds of the consumer now," he said.

“Nexus is not in the Google Apps partner channel, yet,” Falcon said. “We will, however, help companies integrate the Nexus 7 into their computing environments. The Nexus 7 is a good platform for running Google Apps and other cloud-based solutions.”

Nexus 7 offers access and convenience, while the Chromebook provides a more robust user experience with a full keyboard and larger screen, Falcon added.

“We see uses for both devices,” he said. “Chromebooks and Chromboxes are more likely to replace desktops, laptops, notebooks and netbooks -- in the office and out. The Nexus 7 will start as a ‘convenience’ device for checking emails and documents when out of the office.”

XChange Solution Provider 2015 is finally upon us and the timing couldn't be better. The premier channel event is happening March 1-3 in Dallas, bringing together 225 solution provider decision makers from across North America. CRN is at the event to provide news, analysis and a firsthand take from partners.